Column or pedestal mounted air circulation fans commonly consist of a base, a column supported upon the base at its lower end, and the column upper end supports a motor having a drive shaft upon which a blade assembly is affixed, and blade guards mounted upon the motor housing encompass and protect the blade assembly. Fans of this type, particularly of larger size as used in industrial and institutional applications are difficult to package and ship, and, conventionally, it is the practice to ship such column or pedestal type fans in several cartons.
The shipping of fans in a plurality of separate cartons is expensive, and creates the likelihood that only a partial order will be received. Lost, displaced or delayed components prevent use of the apparatus until all of the components are available.
As industrial and institutional air circulation fans are often shipped by package delivery services, such as United Parcel Service (UPS) it is necessary to comply with the package size limitations of such delivery services, and large size air circulation fans wherein the fan motor is supported upon an elongated pedestal or column usually require at least three separate cartons in order to qualify for delivery service. Heretofore, it has not been possible to ship all of the components of a column supported commercial type air circulation fan in a single carton which qualifies under conventional package delivery service standards.
It is an object of the invention to provide a unitary shipping carton for column supported air circulating fans wherein all of the components of the fan may be contained within a single carton which meets standard package delivery service regulations.
Another object of the invention is to provide a unitary carton for shipping column supported fans wherein the fan components will be retained within the carton in such manner as to protect the components from damage and wherein the fan components will not be stressed, bent or otherwise abused by the packaging during shipping.
Yet another object of the invention is to permit a column supported floor mounted fan to be shipped in a single carton in a disassembled manner wherein the fan components interrelate such that the components will be maintained in the desired relationship to each other and the carton during shipping, and wherein the closing of the carton locks the components in the desired relationship within the shipping carton.
In the practice of the invention a rectangular carton, preferably square, includes an annular divider of a generally circular configuration which receives a pair of nested concave-convex fan blade guards, the concave side of the fan blade guards being disposed toward the carton open end. A base for supporting the fan column is of such a diameter as to fit within the nested fan blade guards, and the fan blade assembly is superimposed over the base in a concentric relationship.
The annular carton divider includes ledges located adjacent opposed corners of the carton for receiving column structure which consists of a elongated carton containing the fan column. The column structure includes a side disposed toward the blade assembly which engages the hub of the blade assembly, and the opposite side of the column structure is in substantial alignment with the plane of the carton open end. Accordingly, the column structure will be disposed diagonally across the carton locating the column structure within the carton maximum dimension.
At one of the carton interior corner regions not in alignment with the column structure motor receiving and confining means in the form of a triangular divider is located. Upon a cover being applied to the open end of the carton the column structure will be engaged maintaining the same in a superimposed contiguous relationship to the stacked blade guards, base and blade assembly rendering the contents firmly positioned within the carton for safe shipping.
The fan column may consist of a plurality of telescoping members wherein a fan of substantial height may be shipped with the carton system of the invention and by the practice of the inventive concepts it is possible to ship a commercial type circulating fan by parcel delivery services and maintain the carton within the package limitations of such services.